


LIFELINES

by scots_rock



Category: boys lab, boyslab, boyslove - Fandom, jgv
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, M/M, boyslab - Freeform, boyslove, jgv - Freeform, suppression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-07-16 14:55:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16088417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scots_rock/pseuds/scots_rock
Summary: TO BE ADDED





	1. Taste

It's coming through. It's actually digging its way out of the soil and into the sun. Or what is left of it.

Careful now. Very careful. The roots shall not be harmed, they shall stay intact and healthy, ready to spread out further and provide the needed strength to the rest of the plant. The stem, the leaves, the fruit.

When the tiny offshoot is placed safely in its new pot, he lets out a deep sigh.

It's warm in the greenhouse. It's become home to many different plants and flowers, and it's all because of his efforts that the master and his family can get fresh vegetables and fruit from time to time. He does that. No one else.

It's uncommon for a server to have some sort of hobby, if you can call providing food a hobby. Normally, all a server does is stay inside the house, make small repairs, help the maid in the kitchen sometimes, move furniture around, hang up pictures, clean the tools. He's not allowed to drive the car, that's what the driver is for.

He doesn't care for the car. He doesn't like going downtown to get some groceries the mistress has told him to get. Downtown is full of people. The kind of people you wouldn't let into your house (apart from other servers and drivers).

“Misaki!”

It's the master.

He wipes his sweat off his forehead, takes off the gardening gloves and exits the greenhouse.

“Yes, Mr. Coleman?”

“Have you seen the driver?”

_He has a name, you know?_

“No, Mr. Coleman.”, Misaki responds. “Shall I go looking for him?”

“Yes, and hurry up.”

Something is up. The master seems to be in a hurry and is untypically impatient.

Misaki locks the door to the greenhouse with a little key. It's hanging from a necklace that goes back around his neck when he feels like the greenhouse is secured.

He knows where to find the driver. There are still places the master and mistress don't know about. No wonder. They rarely go outside. It's either the house or downtown. Misaki takes the small path that leads from the back part of the garden to the garage. The driver lives above the garage in a small flat. Lucky him. The driver's privacy is something Misaki doesn't have.

He goes around the garage to the far end, the stone wall that surrounds the whole property. It's quite high. One part is hidden behind the roof of the garage. That's where he will find him. Up high, sitting on the wall, feet dangling down, sometimes a cigarette between his lips. Misaki told him to pay more attention, sometimes you could actually see smoke coming from the back of the garage. They both know it's forbidden. Well, it's forbidden to them. Not the master.

“Hey.”, Misaki whisper-shouts to the top of the wall.

_I've missed you._

“Hey.”, the driver shouts back.

“You gotta come down now. The master is looking for you.”

_I don't want you to get into trouble._

Hayate takes one more drag, gently puts out the cigarette and hides it somewhere Misaki can't see.

“Why are you here anyway?”, Misaki asks, watching Hayate get up and balance his way to a spot right above him.

“I was in the mood.” Hayate jumps down from the wall.

“For what?”

“Hide and seek.” Hayate smiles.

“You're silly. He's gonna catch you one day and then...”

“Then what?” Hayate looks around. Nobody is here. Ever. But still. “What do you think he will do when he finds out I smoke his precious cigarettes on his own property?”

“You never told me they were his.” Misaki got used to the permanent hint of fear in his voice.

“Relax.” Hayate takes out a small piece of chocolate from one of his jeans pockets. “Want some? I found it in the backseat of the car yesterday.”

“It's getting worse. Now you will get me into trouble as well.”

“No chocolate then. Fine. More for me.” He unwraps the small cube of chocolate and puts into his mouth.

“You're gonna smell like...” Misaki smells Hayate's clothes shortly. “Like cigarettes and chocolate.”

_And treason._

“Well, I can put on a new shirt.”, Hayate answers, still chomping around on his chocolate.

“And the chocolate?”

Hayate's hands are fast when they suddenly wrap around Misaki's neck to pull him closer. Chocolate in itself tastes good enough, but it even tastes better in Hayate's mouth. It's completely melted now, the sweet flavor of nougat filling up both their mouths. And Misaki wants more. More of this. More of these tender moments. More chocolate.

“You're... crazy.”, Misaki pants when they break the kiss. He licks his lips to savor every last piece of the sweet taste.

“I know. That's why you love me.”

_Yes, I do._

“No, that's not it.”

“Fine. Just keep on telling yourself that.”

Hayate winks at Misaki and they both make their way back to the house.

For a brief moment they were a couple, a real couple that doesn't need to hide. Hayate does these little things sometimes. A kiss here, a touch there, sometimes whispers in his ear when they pass each other in the house. And he doesn't listen when Misaki tells him to stop. He's like that. A free spirit you can't tame. He still doesn't believe that Hayate hasn't been caught yet, that he somehow manages to stay beneath the radar although he's so fucking out there sometimes.

As Misaki watches Hayate and the master getting in the car from his small window in his room, he starts licking his lips again.

Here it is.

He touches his bottom lip.

It still lingers here.

Right here.

The taste of the driver.


	2. Nameless

_No, you cannot do this here._

 

But it’s too late for that. Hayate has his lips tightly wrapped around Misaki’s cock, sucking hard. Misaki presses the back of his hand on his mouth, scared to death to let out even the slightest sound. He’s pressed against the stone wall, that wicked and evil stone wall, Hayate’s one hand keeping him still while the other is pumping him.

 

“Hayate…”, a whisper escapes his lips.

 

_We’re dead. Both of us._

 

No reaction, just continuous sucking and licking. This is so bad, but feels so good at the same time. How did he get himself into this state? He just wanted to see Hayate after he came back from a 3-day-long journey with the master. He missed him. And now he’s suddenly here, captured and tortured by his lover.

 

“Ready?” Hayate suddenly stops and looks up.

 

Misaki just nods and turns around. No need to resist anymore. This is happening, Hayate has him hooked on the danger of being found, adrenaline rushing through his veins as well as lust and desire. When Hayate enters Misaki makes a small moan, quickly putting his hand back on his mouth.

 

“I’m glad you like it.”, Hayate whispers into his ear, pressing his body against him and beginning to thrust slowly first, then with more passion and more eagerness.

 

It doesn’t take long and Misaki is sent over the edge with his lover following right behind him. As Hayate pulls out, Misak quickly puts his pants back on. He can clean up the mess later in his room. Somehow.

 

“What has gotten into you?”

 

“Don’t you mean, what has gotten _into you_?”, Hayate smirks, zipping up his trouser before kissing Misaki once again hard on the mouth.

 

“Hayate, this is not funny. I’m really scared. I worry about you.”

 

“It’s night time, everybody’s asleep, we’re at the far end of the property. No one heard us. No one saw us. Please just relax.”

 

Hayate’s embrace feels safe and warm, still… Misaki has a weird feeling that he cannot shake off.

 

“Why do you this? How can you not care?”

“I’ll tell you another time. Now I gotta go to bed, and you should, too.”

 

That is weird. Why the sudden rush?

 

“Okay. Do you have to wake up early tomorrow? Does Mr. Coleman have another one of those weird appointments?”

 

“Mhm.”

 

Misaki suddenly feels very stupid for seeking out Hayate so late at night. He was the one endangering everything. Hayate was simply reacting.

 

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come here-”

 

“Misaki?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Never apologize for wanting to see me. I always want to see you. Even if all hell breaks loose, I will always want to see you. I will always want you by my side. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Good.” Hayate smiles, takes Misaki once again into his arms, and holds him tightly. As if he doesn’t want to let go. He places soft kisses all over Misaki’s hair and face. “Don’t you ever doubt that.”

 

“I got it, Hayate.”

 

Misaki lets go of the embrace to have a closer look at his lover’s face, trying to read some emotions in it, but he fails miserably.

 

“See you tomorrow night?”

 

“Yes, tomorrow night.”, Hayate reassures as they both make their way back to the front of the garage. “Good Night.”

 

_One more kiss. One more embrace._

 

“Good Night.”

 

When Misaki is back in his room, getting cleaned up quietly as to not to wake the maid that sleeps in the bed next to him, his mind wanders to somewhere far away. To a better place. Where he and Hayate could be happy. No servers. No drivers. No maids. Maybe some place at the coast, on the other side of that fucking border. He would so like to cross it someday, but he’s too scared. Too many people have been caught trying to get out and lost their lives. He’d rather stay here, loving Hayate secretly. It’s fine. The master and mistress are not that bad after all. They have a somewhat pleasant life. It could be worse. He has heard of other districts where people are not allowed to go outside at all. Tunnels and underground markets provide the necessary things. He wouldn’t want to miss the sun for one second. He can see it sometimes, on days when the smoke is light and the sun can send a few rays down to earth. Down to his greenhouse.

 

The greenhouse. He needs to check on the plants first thing in the morning. It could be that the first few tomatoes are ripe. That will earn him some extra points with the mistress.

 

He suddenly hears the maid mumble in her sleep and adjusting herself in the bed. It brings him back to here, this small room and a few of his belongings. An old picture of his family, a book, a pencil case and some paper to draw. That’s it. He has earned all these things through his hard work and his loyalty. However, those are not the things that Misaki is afraid they’ll take away when the Colemans find out about his betrayal.

 

_They’ll take Hayate._

 

~~~ *** ~~~

 

“...saki!”

 

He stirs in his sleep.

 

“Misaki!”

 

That’s his name. He’s being called. Who is calling him?

 

“MisakI! Get up!”

 

It’s the maid.

 

“Rosie, what? What is going on?”

 

Misaki opens his eyes. It’s not even dawn yet. What is happening?

 

“I’m not sure, but the watchers are here.”

 

Watchers?

 

Misaki is immediately wide awake. It’s only now that he hears voices in the house, and steps from a lot of people. At least 5 or 7 watchers are here.

 

He gets dressed and heads downstairs with Rosie to see what has caused the this chaos in the household. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman are in the living room talking to what seems to be the highest ranking watcher. He has a lot of crosses on the sleeve of his jacket.

 

“We had no idea. I swear, he seemed so normal and… loyal.”, Mr. Coleman is explaining.

 

“It’s not uncommon. We get that quite often. They can hide their true identity pretty well.”, the watcher answers. “Do you know if he was close with anyone in this household?”

 

_Me._

 

“I don’t think so. Maybe the server.”, Mrs. Coleman says and sees Misaki standing in the doorway of the room. “There he is.”

 

The watcher turns around.

 

“What is going on?”, Misaki asks but already knows the answer to that question.

 

“The driver disappeared.”, the watcher tells him.

 

_Hayate. His name is Hayate._

 


	3. Dare

“Were you close with him?”

 

_Yes. Very close._

 

“No, we barely knew each other.”

 

The watcher doesn’t seem to be very satisfied with that answer. Or he just doesn’t believe Misaki. It’s a wonder that he can answer at all. Shocked isn’t even a fitting word to describe his status. Frozen. Hurt. Wounded. Something in between or a mixture of everything.

  
“Will you find him?”, Mrs. Coleman suddenly asks which makes the watcher turn around.

 

“Not likely. He’s either already dead, shot by the guards at the border, or captured by watchers from other districts. And in that case we are not getting him back because he will face trial and execution there. We are checking into it right now.”

 

_Dead. Shot. Captured. Trial. Execution._

 

“Well, and what am I supposed to do now? Without a diver? I need to head to the capital in two hours!”

 

_So it’s about 5 in the morning._

 

“No worries, Mr. Coleman. We already have a replacement.”

 

_Sure, he’s got a name, too._

 

Someone pushes Misaki to the side, first a watcher, then a young man, after him another watcher.

 

“He’s already been instructed. Keys to the apartment over the garage and the car have already been handed over.”

 

_It’s like he has never been here. Like he never existed._

 

“Do want me to inform you if we find any information on the old driver?”

 

Mr. Coleman shakes his head.

 

“That won’t be necessary. Gone is gone.”

 

“Good then. I apologize again for the nightly interruption. Mr. Coleman, Mrs. Coleman.”

 

And with that the watchers disappear as fast as they have arrived.

 

~~~ *** ~~~

 

One day. Two days. A week. Two weeks.

 

Three weeks pass by as if nothing happened. Life goes on. Survival goes on.

 

Misaki has stopped crying himself to sleep three days ago. It’s not like he can do something anyway, his tears won’t bring Hayate back. And maybe he doesn’t want to come back. Or he’s already dead. He tries to calm himself down by imagining that Hayate got across the border and that he’s now living in a small house at the coast, far away from here.

 

There is a question, though, that lingers inside of him. He doesn’t dare speak it out loud. Not even think it. He tries to omit the burning question with even more gardening, repairing every small flaw in the house he can find, even going downtown to the market. Extra points with the mistress.

 

“We’re here.”, the driver says and interrupts Misaki’s chain of thoughts.

 

He looks up. They’re back at the house. Misaki gets out of the car and heads wordlessly straight to the kitchen, where Rosie prepares dinner.

 

“There were eggplants. And minced beef.”

 

“That’s… unusual.”, she answers but takes the groceries anyway.

 

“They had a shipment.”, Misaki explains, picks up a knife and a cutting board, and sits down at the table ready to help. Ready to get rid of the question again.

 

“Here. Dice the eggplant into small pieces.”

 

There is a longer silence in the kitchen. Maid and server working hand in hand to satisfy the master and mistress.

 

“What do you think of the new driver?”, Rosie breaks the silence.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“He seems nice. He has a gorgeous smile.”

 

Misaki flinches and almost cuts his finger.

 

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

 

“Why? He sure has a pretty smile. And that hair. Jesus, what I wouldn’t give for thick, healthy hair.” She runs her hand through her short-cut hair. “He can’t be from here. He’s from somewhere… abroad.”

 

“Rosie!”, Misaki raises his voice.

 

“Jesus, Misaki, relax! No one’s here right now. Both of them left to have a look at the Brown’s newborn baby.”

 

_Relax._

 

“Uhm… sorry to interrupt.”

 

The driver has entered the kitchen, obviously looking lost.

 

“Hey, Isana. Can I help you with anything?”, Rosie immediately reacts, automatically running her hand through her hair, trying to put a long-gone-strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“I’m… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. It’s the first time both of them are out.”

 

“Oh, you can sit with us. I could use another hand. Here.”

 

She hands him an onion and places him right across Misaki at the table.

 

“Dice away.”

 

Isana smiles and begins to work as he has been told.

 

_What a careless smile._

 

“Your name is Misaki, right?”

 

He wasn’t expecting a conversation with the new driver but apparently it’s happening.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Has a nice ring to it.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Awkward silence.

 

“I’ve heard about what happened to the old driver.”

 

_Hayate. He has a fucking name. Why doesn’t anyone get that?_

 

“Isana…”, Rosie turns around from the stove to face him. “We don’t talk about it. Don’t let the Colemans hear you mentioning him.” Her voice is low and somewhat threatening.

 

“Oh… okay… I wasn’t aware…” Isana turns his focus back to the onions.

 

“As you might know there has been… a situation. That’s why you’re here. That’s why we don’t talk about him.”, Misaki explains to Rosie’s surprised look.

 

It’s the first time since Hayate has disappeared that someone wants to talk about him. Misaki is a little bit grateful for that.

 

“I’m not really sure what happened. I was just told to come along.”

 

_That’s how they work. Through ignorance and fear._

 

“I see.” Misaki is unsure whether to explain more. Maybe not now. Maybe later when Rosie does laundry.

 

“Damnit!”, Isana suddenly cries out, startling Misaki and Rosie. He quickly wraps his hand around his left index finger. Drops of blood color the onions red.

 

“Oh, let me help-”

 

“I’ll do it. You cook. They will be back soon.”

 

Misaki gets up and leads Isana to a room next to the kitchen. It’s not bigger than a small bathroom and resembles a storage room. It has lots of cupboards and shelves where cans and glasses filled with food are stored. In one drawer are all the medical supplies the Colemans have, and it’s not little. Misaki takes out some disinfectant and a bandage. There is a small chair and he orders Isana to sit down.

 

“It’s not very deep.”, he says after having checked the wound, trying to calm down Isana who looks a bit panicked. “I really don’t want you to puke on me so… if you can’t handle blood then just close your eyes.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay.”, Misaki repeats, kneels down and starts to treat Isana’s wound.

 

“His name is Hayate.”

 

“What?”

 

“The old driver. His name is Hayate.”

 

“I knew that.”

 

Misaki glances at Isana’s face, eyes still closed, gritted teeth.

 

“What else do you know?”

 

“I know...” Isana flinches at the disinfectant being dropped onto the cut. “I know that he escaped from here three weeks ago.”

 

_Escaped? Not disappeared, but escaped?_

  
“I know that he hasn’t crossed the border yet.”, Isana explains in a much calmer voice.

 

Misaki freezes right in the middle of putting the bandage on.

 

“I know that you’ve been asking yourself a question.”

 

Misaki looks up and stares into the other man’s eyes. Isana has opened his eyes and is staring right back at him now.

 

“Why... “, Misaki begins but can’t bring himself to speak it out.

  
“Why didn’t he escape together with you?”, Isana finishes.

 

“Yes.”

 

Their voices have dropped to whispers now, their heads close together.

 

“He was meant to go alone and they wouldn’t allow him to bring anyone along.”, Isana explains, his hand now moving down to his shoes. His right foots slips out of it, his hand reaches inside, takes out the sole and then a piece of paper. He hands it to Misaki.

 

Misaki takes the note in his trembling hands and unfolds it. He breaks down in tears, trying to silence himself, pressing both of his hands strongly onto his mouth. Isana’s still bleeding hand rests comfortingly on his shoulder.

 

_“ Don’t you ever doubt it.”_


	4. Something About Us

He doesn’t know where he’s going, where they are taking him.

 

He just knows that he’s been woken up in the middle of the night, shouted at, slapped across the face a few times, shouted at again to hurry up, and then he suddenly was sitting in the back of a car.

 

Misaki cannot sort his thoughts, his head hurting from the beating. What is going on? He has always followed their orders. If they told him to scrub the dorm floor with a toothbrush, he did. If they told him to stand against the wall, holding two buckets filled to the rim with water, he did. He never complained. He endured everything.

 

He doesn’t dare ask any questions. They’ve been driving for quite a while now, an hour or two. When the car halts, Misaki is asleep and is violently woken up by the watcher who was sitting with him in the back.

 

“Come on! They are waiting!”

 

It’s still dark and freezing, Misaki can see the puffs of air coming out of his and the watchers’ mouths. He’s only wearing a thin black long-sleeve shirt and some trousers. When he halts for a moment to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the night, the watchers push him forward. Slowly a huge house comes into sight, they are in some kind of city district. Misaki can make out a broad main street, tall villa-like houses standing on each side, neatly lined up next to each other.

 

A tall slim man is standing at the door of the house in front of them, a weird smile on his lips.

 

“Finally! We’ve been expecting you, Misaki.”

 

Now that he’s standing in front of him, Misaki can have a closer look.

 

“I’m Mr. Coleman. You’ll be staying with us from now on.”

 

Misaki doesn’t answer but continues to stare at Mr. Coleman, scared and confused.

 

“You told me he understands English!”

 

Mr. Coleman’s voice changes immediately from fake-friendly to threateningly angry.

 

“He does, and he also speaks English.”

 

Misaki feels a hard smack on his back and flinches.

 

“You should answer when you are being addressed, do you understand?”

 

Mr. Coleman’s face is right in front of him when he speaks.

 

“Yes… I… I understand.”

 

“Good.” He turns to the watchers. “That would be all. I can take it from here.”

 

The watchers nod and head back to the car. Misaki suddenly feels more insecure without them. A weird feeling when you consider those brutal men to be your only hope. Between them and his apparently new master, he’d choose those watchers in an instance.

 

“Rosie!”

 

As they head into the house, a short thin girl appears.

 

“Take Misaki to his room. You will instruct him first thing tomorrow, understood?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Instruct? What is he supposed to be doing here? He’s good at repairing things, but from what he has heard the drivers of the master houses are also capable of doing this.

 

“You know why you’re here?”, Rosie asks him once they reach a room, not big enough for two people to live in, but apparently have to.

 

“Not really.”

 

“Were you gardening at the dorm where you stayed?”

 

Misaki’s eyes get big at that question. How did they find out?

 

“Yes, they know. And that’s what they want you to do here. You’re pretty lucky. Self-gardening is strictly forbidden in other districts. But food is scare goods over here. The mistress wants you to take up on gardening and grow vegetables for her.”

 

Misaki sits down on his appointed bed. He is aware of the horrific situation in this district, but he never would have guessed it to be so dramatic. He always got his share of the meals at the dorm. Maybe the meals weren’t edible after all.

 

“They told me, that’s how I know. I am supposed to show you around tomorrow and help you out until the greenhouse is up and running.”

 

“Is it set up already?”

 

“No, the driver will also help us.”

 

 

~ *** ~

 

“I can’t believe it.”

 

The mistress keeps walking around the tiny plant pot that is standing on the kitchen table.

 

“And we can really eat it?”

 

“I… I haven’t tried it out yet, Madam.”, Misaki stammers, hands folded neatly together, standing next to his first gardening achievement.

 

“Doesn’t matter, we can fix that. Let Rosie make something out of this and call the driver later.”

 

“The… driver?”

 

“Of course. We can always get a new driver. But if this works we will need you. I can’t allow my gardening genius to get poisoned by his own creations.”

 

~ *** ~

 

When Misaki’s head finally hits the pillow he lets out a deep breath. He can’t believe that everything went so smoothly. The zucchini was edible and not poisonous. Hayate ate up the whole plate and nothing weird or bad happened. Yet.

 

How long has it been now? About four or five months? Hayate has been an incredible help, with building the greenhouse, getting earth and organizing fresh water. This was probably the hardest task. How he did manage that, Misaki still doesn’t know. But that doesn’t matter now. Hayate is alive and well and that is all that-

 

Misaki sits up when he hears something small hit the window. A stone? A few seconds pass and another one comes flying at the glass.

 

He gets up and checks the door first. Thankfully he’s alone, Rosie is doing laundry. He walks over to the window to open it when another stone comes flying, this time hitting Misaki’s chest.

 

“Ouch!”, he whispers, rubbing the spot where the stone hit him. He finally looks down and sees Hayate standing there.

 

He’s all smiling and waving.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Come down for a minute!”

 

They both try to be quiet, shout-whispering their conversation.

 

“Are you out of your mind? What if they find out?”

 

“Come on! Just for a minute! Nobody’s gonna notice!”

 

Misaki sees Hayate still smiling and is suddenly reminded of the sacrifice he had to make so that they both could live.

 

“Okay, hold on.”

 

“Meet me at the garage!”

 

And with that Hayate disappears.

 

~ *** ~

 

“I’m pretty sure we’re dead by tomorrow morning.”, Misaki says when he enters Hayate’s small apartment above the garage.

 

“Nah, they are really heavy sleepers. Both of them.” Hayate switches on a small lamp that is standing on the night stand next to his bed. “Don’t know why tough. They never do anything around here.”

 

Misaki is still standing at the door while Hayate sits down on his bed.

 

“Come over here, I gotta show you something.”

 

Reluctantly, Misaki walks over and sits a few inches away from the driver. Hayate kicks off his shoes, picks the right one up, removes the sole and takes out a small piece of paper.

 

“Here. That’s where I want to go.”

 

Misaki opens up the paper. It turns out to be a postcard with a picture of a small mountain hut in front of a beautiful blue lake. The whole scenery looks so peaceful and… unreachable.

 

“Really nice.”

 

“You know where that is?”

 

“The Rocky Mountains?”

 

“Nope.”

 

Misaki thinks for a moment.

 

“It’s the Alpes.”, Hayate interrupts his thoughts.

 

“The Alpes.”

 

“Yes! Imagine living there. Doesn’t this look … perfect?”

 

“It surely does.” Misaki folds the postcard to its former state and hands it back to Hayate. “But you will probably be executed before you can reach it.”

 

“I don’t think so. I’ll go there someday!”

 

Misaki shakes his head in disbelief.

 

“How can you be so carefree and positive when everything around you is falling apart?”

 

“Don’t know. The right attitude maybe?”

 

And there it is, that smirk. That carefree, cheeky, beautiful smirk, that Misaki adores so much.

 

“I hope you do get to go there one day.”

 

“Not just me. But you too!”

 

“Me? Can you imagine me chopping wood and going fishing or hunting?”

 

“No, but you can grow stuff. All the vegetable you want. And not just that! Flowers! Real flowers in all the colors the world has left!”

 

Misaki chuckles.

 

“That would be nice… really nice indeed.”

 

It doesn’t take much to overpower Misaki. Hayate has pushed him so fast onto the mattress, pinning him down, staring right at him, that Misaki isn’t able to react at all.

 

“Hayate! Let me go, what are you doing?”

 

“Come with me then.”

 

“What?”

 

“I want to get out of here. Soon. And I want you to come along.”

 

“You have really lost your mind. Maybe the zucchini wasn’t edible after all.”

 

Misaki tries to wriggle out, but Hayate is too heavy and too strong.

 

“Look, I know this life isn’t what we both imagined it to be. But it’s better than being beaten at the dorm or starving on the streets or trying to survive in the underground. Just… bare with it.”

 

“No, I don’t want to!”

 

Hayate lets go of Misaki, rolling off his body and plunging down next to him.

 

“I want… more.”

 

“I know. Me too.”

 

Misaki scoots closer, feeling the need to be close to the man lying in front him. He reaches out and strokes Hayate’s cheek softly.

 

“I would kiss you now if I was allowed to.”, he whispers. “I would kiss you to make all your bad thoughts go away.”

 

Hayate simply stares back, letting himself be caressed and touched.

 

“I don’t want you to go. I can’t do this on my own.”

 

Hayate slings an arm around Misaki’s waist and pulls him closer.

 

“I won’t leave. At least not without you.”

 

Misaki buries his face in Hayate’s chest.

 

“Promise?”

 

“Promise. Don’t you ever doubt it.”

 

Misaki feels tender kisses on his forehead, cheek and ears.

 

“Hayate…”

 

“I don’t care.”

 

More kisses, more caressing touches, more tenderness.

 

More.

 

Just more.

 

Still not enough.

 

 


End file.
